MAKKAH: Minister of Water and Electricity Engineer Abdullah Al-Hussain said about 10 million cubic meters of water will be needed by pilgrims which will be distributed by the company in Makkah and the holy sites during the pilgrimage season and sourced from the General Establishment for Water Desalination’s plants.

He said water will be delivered by the General Organization for Desalination in quantities of up to more than 180,000 cubic meters per day from the desalination plants in Shuaiba (1 and 2), 460,000 cubic meters from Shuaiba station 3, and 10,000 cubic meters of water per day of water from the Malkan Valley Project for the Grand Mosque bathrooms.

During Al-Hussain’s visit to the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Project for Zamzam Water, as well as the water utilities and environmental services at the holy sites, he was briefed about the latest preparations for providing water during the pilgrimage until the end of Dhul Hijja.

Since the beginning of Ramadan, the project distributed more than 3 million bottles of Zamzam water, while strategic reserves for the project reached 1.5 million of the 10 liter bottles, taking into account the steady increase in demand.

Al-Hussain also inspected the company’s facilities for management of water distribution, strategic water storage, and electronic water laboratories, which were developed by the company this year to carry out chemical and bacteriological analyses to make sure that the water is free from any contamination. He also reviewed implementation of the new system launched by the company for the first time this season to manage and control water networks at the holy sites.